Abstract

The issues raised by mental ill health and the treatment of those who are deemed to be mentally disordered have long been debated within health-care law. Mental health law is distinctive because it can be used to authorize involuntary detention and compulsory treatment.1 We had originally intended to cover the law on assessing, detaining and treating those who are mentally disordered in one Five-Minute Focus on Law, but having embarked on this task it soon became clear that a summary of the law would take more than one article. In this Five-Minute Focus, Part I, we consider mental health law in England and Wales with regard to assessing and detaining mentally disordered patients. In the following edition of this journal, we will address the matter of treating such patients.